Bee feeder for hives

ABSTRACT

A honey-bee feeder which is adapted to replace a brood frame which has been withdrawn from a conventional box-type beehive. One embodiment of the invention is characterized by a one piece container made by &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;blow molding&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; from plastic material and is of requisite size and shape to be effectively fitted into the beehive. The side and end walls slope toward the bottom wall and provide a tapered easy-to-stack container. Upper end portions of the respective end walls are provided with horizontal outstanding lugs which can be hooked over and hung from the existing support rails in the beehive. The bottom wall has indentations which constitute bead-type elevating feet. These &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;feet&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; when in use elevate the container and provide a crawl space between the opposed bottoms of the hive and container. To minimize immersion and bee drowning the interior wall surfaces may be roughened and, in addition, an optionally useable arcuately bowed screen guard promotes reliable climbing and ultimate escape. The second embodiment is basically the same as the aforementioned embodiment except that the upper end is provided with narrowed and centered supporting lugs and the otherwise open top embodies integral end and centered reinforcing webs which, thus located, define spaced elongated openings, and conjointly stabilize and prevent undesirable warping of the walls, particularly the sidewalls.

United States Patent [1 1 Grigg [451 Sept. 17, 1974 BEE FEEDER FOR HIVES[75] Inventor: Donald A. Grigg, Harper, Oreg.

[73] Assignee: Silverbow industries, lnc., Vale,

Oreg.

221 Filed: Mar. 22, 1973 21 Appl.No.:343,709

Primary ExaminerAntonio F. Guida Assistant ExaminerJ. N. EskovitzAttorney, Agent, or FirmClarence A. OBrien; Harvey B. Jacobson [S 7ABSTRACT A honey-bee feeder which is adapted to replace a brood framewhich has been withdrawn from a conventional box-type beehive. Oneembodiment of the invention is characterized by a one piece containermade by blow molding from plastic material and is of requisite size andshape to be effectively fitted into the beehive. The side and end wallsslope toward the bottom wall and provide a tapered easy-to-stackcontainer. Upper end portions of the respective end walls are providedwith horizontal. outstanding lugs which can be hooked over and hung fromthe existing support rails in the beehive. The bottom wall hasindentations which constitute bead-type elevating feet. These feet whenin use elevate the container and provide a crawl space between theopposed bottoms of the hive and container. To minimize immersion and beedrowning the interior wall surfaces may be roughened and, in addition,an optionally useable arcuately bowed screen guard promotes reliableclimbing and ultimate escape.

The second embodiment is basically the same as the aforementionedembodiment except that the upper end is provided with narrowed andcentered supporting lugs and the otherwise open top embodies integralend and centered reinforcing webs which, thus located, define spacedelongated openings, and QQPJQLUX stabiliz an P aye n e rab e w p s ofthe walls, particularly the sidewalls.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures BEE FEEDER FOR HIVES This invention relatesto certain new and useful improvements in readily insertable andremovable feeders for conventional box-type beehives and pertains,generically construed, to a container for sweetened liquid, sugaredwater, for example, and preferably but not necessarily made frommoldable plastic material and embodying features and advantages whichinsure satisfactory results.

Because of an increase in the price of honey, it is currently deemed tobe economically desirable to feed bees during the winter with a suitablebee feed, a sugared water mixture, instead of leaving honey in the hivefor the colony of bees to consume. With a view toward coping with andaptly solving this problem, a simple, practical and acceptable beefeeder is herein disclosed and recommended for economical and feasibleuse.

Insertable and removable bee feeders for use in boxtype beehives are ofmany and varied styles and types. For background purposes and asgenerally indicative of the state of the art to which the inventionrelates two prior patents are herein cited. First, attention is invitedto the bee feeder of Charles E. Saunders, US. Pat. No. 1,251,583.Saunders, being comparably complicated, is cited for general informationonly. Attention is also invited to the feeder for honey bees disclosedin Wilbur O. Goebel, US. Pat. No. 2,496,285. Goebel is significant inthat it has to do with the idea of intentionally withdrawing one of thecustomary brood frames from the beehive and substituting the tank-typefeeder therefor. Because Goebel is significant it is evident that it isan object of the present invention to structurally, functionally, andotherwise improve on the Goebel patent and other citations, if any,which exemplify the state of the art.

Wood and sheet metal and structurally equivalent tank-type and containertype feeders while used extensively appear to have met with restrictedadoption and endorsement in that the many requirements and conditionsfor widespread use have not been fully met.

Briefly, each herein disclosed bee feeder is characterized by a readilyapplicable and removable container for the readily accessible liquid beefeeding solution. Each container is simple and practical and is made ofmoldable plastic material and more specifically, comprises a horizontalbottom wall, upstanding sidewalls and interconnecting transverse endwalls. Upper end portions of the end walls are provided with outstandinglugs which provide satisfactory hangers capable of being seated andhooked over the currently existing rails in the beehive. Each containeris characterized by downwardly sloping side and end walls which inconjunction with the suitably narrowed bottom wall provide a tapereddesign which is ideal in that a plurality of the containers (that is, inone form of the invention) can be telescopingly fitted together andstacked for compactness and convenience and for expeditious handling andstorage needs, Interior scaling and climbing surfaces of the walls arepreferably roughened during the blow molding step. In addition to theseroughened climbing surfaces an optionally useable insert, moreparticularly, an arcuately curved strip of screen wire, is conforrninglylocated within the confines of the receptacle portion and provides analternately available escape means for stray bees.

In both forms of the invention the bottom wall is preferably provided,adjacent to the respective ends, with indentations which in turnconstitute transverse beads. These beads provide rests which are capableof resting on the bottom of the hive and serve as elevating feet whenthe aforementioned hanger lugs are not useable. These feet have beenfound to be effectually desirable in that they provide a crawl spacebetween the coordinating bottoms of the beehive and container.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of one embodiment of a bee feederconstructed in accordance with the principles of the present inventionand readied for use.

FIG. 2 is an end view on a small scale showing how a plurality of theimproved bee feeders can be nested together and stacked for compactnessand convenience as well as for handling and storage.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing portions of a conventional box-typebeehive and showing, what is more significant, the insertable andremovable bee feeder and how it is constructed and ordinarily supportedand used.

FIG. 4 is a framentary detailed view with parts in section and whichshows how the aforementioned depending bead type elevating feet can beused when the prevailing conditions require such installation and use.

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective showing a second form or embodiment ofthe bee feeder.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the embodimentof FIG. 5 and how it is supported and used.

FIG. 7 is a vertical section taken on section line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

With reference first to FIGS. 1 to 4 and, more particularly, to FIG. 3the numeral 6 designates a box type beehive having a horizontal bottomwall 8 and an interior surface 10, a passageway for bees as at 12. Theupstanding vertical walls, not fully detailed, are denoted by thenumeral 14. In actual practice, a plurality of the brooder frames areinsertably installed, one of the frames 16 being shown in FIG. 3.Ordinarily, box rails 7 18 are provided and the present invention isconstructed to utilize these rails.

The improved one piece but light weight durable container (FIGS. 1 4) isdenoted by the numeral 20 and, in actual practice, is made frompolyethlene or equivalent of moldable plastic material and lends itselfto acceptable manufacture using a commonly known blow molding procedure.The generally horizontal wall, primarily fiat, is denoted at 22 and isof requisite length to serve the purposes desired. Joined marginally tothis bottom wall are the upstanding sidewalls 24 joined at theirrespective ends by intervening transverse vertical walls 26. Thejunctional portions of the walls are such as to provide rounded comerportions 28. Upper portions 30 of the end walls are provided withoutstanding support lugs 32 which are approximately V-shapedcross-section and provide underneath substantially flat surfaces 34which may be hooked over the satisfactorily supported atop the existingrails 18, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3.

There may be instances where no rails are available and aptly suitableto accommodate the lugs 32. under such circumstances it may be and oftenis necessary to support the bottom wall 22 directly from the interiorsurface of the bottom wall 8 of the beehive. To accomplish this andduring the molding process indentations are provided as at 36 whichdefine depending concave-convex beads 38. These beads constituteelevating feet and when in use, as shown in FIG. 4, they rest on thesupport surface 10. By providing longitudinally spaced transverseelevating feet the container is not only satisfactorily supported, acrawlway space for the bees is provided as at 40 in FIG. 4.

It will be evident that the downwardly sloping and converging walls inconjunction with the bottom wall provide the desired tapered shape, thisbeing a feature of the concept in that it permits the containers 20 tobe nested or telescopingly interconnected for stacking, handling and useparticularly for shipping and similar purposes. The outstanding lip-likelugs 32 serve under ordinary circumstances in the manner shown in FIG. 3for satisfactory support results. This is to say the lugs 32 resting onthe rails 18 provide the desired suspension results within the confinesof the hive.

As a general rule the interior surfaces of the side and end walls may beroughened or otherwise finished as suggested at 42 of FIG. 1 thusproviding scaling and climbing surfaces for stray bees. As alreadysuggested and where the lugs 32 not successfully useable, the elevatingbeads or feet 38 are available for use in the manner shown in FIG. 4.feed In practice one of the brood frames (not detailed) is removed toprovide space for insertion of the applicable and removable feeder 20.The feeder is then filled with a sugar water solution which, underordinary circumstances, the bees drain in about 24 hours. This feedingis allowed to continue as long as the bees are eating in preparation forwinter and such other procedural steps as are decided upon and arerecommended for prevailing practice or resorted to until spring when thebees will again be fed from the feeders as they begin to leave theirdormant state.

It is within purview of the invention to provide an additional safetyguard, namely, an optionally useable strip of screen wire 44. This guardis fitted within the confines of the receptacle portion and is bowed orcurved to fit and retain itself in place, as shown in FIG. 3. While itis deemed to be unnecessary to dwell upon the manner in which bees feed,it will be evident that the roughened surfaces 42 plus the screen guard44 provide satisfactory and available means which minimize thelikelihood of immersion and drowning in a seemingly obvious manner.

Manufacturing experience has shown that when the feeders are constructedin the manner shown in FIGS. 1 4, there is a tendency for the verticalsloping side walls to warp and bow in toward their central areas andthis aspect of the matter has posed a mass production problem and underthe circumstances, it is within the purview of the overall concept tomanufacture moldable plastic feeders in keeping with the modificationsshown in FIGS. 5-7. To the ends desired, each polyethylene container 46is basically the same as already described and comprises a horizontalessentially flat bottom wall 48, upstanding vertical side walls 50 andinterconnecting end walls 52. The desired transverse longitudinallyspaced indentations 50 in the bottom provide the desired bead-likeelevating feet 56 which in practice function in the manner shownparticularly well in FIG. 4.

The upper end of each container, instead of being wholly open as shownin FIGS. 1 4 inclusive, is partly closed. This is to say, the upperportions of the end and sidewalls are bridged and centrally united, forexample, by a main reenforcing and stabilizing web 58 where the upperportion of the end walls 52 and coordinating end portions of thesidewalls 50 are similarly united by reenforcing and stabilizing webs,the one at the left being denoted at 60 and the one at the right at 62(FIGS. 5 and 6). The portions in between the several reenforcing webs58, 60 and 62 are fashioned into and provide the elongated entrance andexit openings 64 marginally surrounded by slight but upstanding flangesor rim portions 66. Thus the upper end of each container embodies thecentral main web 58 and the companion auxiliary webs 60 and 62 and theintervening elongated slotlike marginally encompassed openings 64. Thentoo and instead of having the supporting or suspension lugs of a widthequal to the width of the end walls as in FIG. 1, for example, the lugsare relatively narrow and are centralized and are integrally formed andare here designated at 68. These narrow lugs serve the same supportingpurposes as the aforementioned lugs 32 and as a matter of fact are shownin use in FIG. 6. Experience has shown that by constructing the upperend portions of the containers in this special manner warpingdifficulties are overcome. While this mode of construction serves tomaintain the shape of the feeders it will be evident that theaforementioned stacking and telescoping feature is lost. On the otherhand the individual beekeeper can sever and cut away the webs 58, 60 and62, in fact, the entire top of each feeder and thus condition it forstacking much in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 2. Anotheralternative would be to build them in the manner shown, for example, inFIG. 1 and to furnish suitably constructed small metal clips to beclamped over the upper edges of the sidewalls which would hold the sidewalls in shape and keep the feeder from warping (not illustrated).

It will be also noted that in both embodiments of the invention thebottom walls are provided with the aforementioned elevating andsupporting feet 56 to accomplish the result, when desired, illustratedin FIG. 4.

An interpretative consideration of the embodiments of the invention,construed singly and collectively, will enable the reader to obtain aclear and comprehensive understanding of the generic as well as thespecific aspects of the overall concept and, under the circumstances, amore extended description is deemed to be unnecessary.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. As an article of manufacture, a honey-bee feeder consisting ofplastic-molded container means including a horizontal bottom wall havinga generally elongated rectangular configuration, and narrow vertical endwalls rising therefrom that taper slightly outwardly as they rise to thetop of the container means and then curve both inwardly and outwardly,in horizontal directions, the outward curve forming outstandingoverhanging lugs for reception by rails within a beehive from which abrood frame has been withdrawn, said lugs being narrower than thevertical end walls and centrally oriented thereby spacing the lugs fromadjacent brood frames, elongated vertical sidewalls similarly taperingslightly outwardly as they rise to the top of the container means, allof said vertical outwardly tapering walls assisting bees in crawling inand out, and, at the top of the container means, the vertical sidewallscurve inwardly to meet with the inwardly curved portions of the endwalls, and they also meet at a central area of an upper portion to forma partial top wall for the container means, further providing a pair ofopenings in said partial top wall leading to a single, hollow interiorspace bounded by said bottom, end, side and top walls, the inwardlycurved portions forming the partial top wall with two openings furtherrigidifying and strengthening the overall container means by the joinedportions of the partial top wall, all of the interior walls dur ingtheir plastic-molding procedure being given a roughened interior surfaceto further assist bees in climbing in and out of the container means,said bottom wall further having transversely positioned concavoconvexexterior beads extending for the full width of said bottom wall andadjacent the longitudinal extremities of said bottom wall, said beadsserving as feet or legs to elevate said bottom wall above a bottom of abeehive in which it may be inserted, said feet or legs providing a crawlspace for bees adjacent the container means within a beehive.

1. As an article of manufacture, a honey-bee feeder consisting ofplastic-molded container means including a horizontal bottom wall havinga generally elongated rectangular configuration, and narrow vertical endwalls rising therefrom that taper slightly outwardly as they rise to thetop of the container means and then curve both inwardly and outwardly,in horizontal directions, the outward curve forming outstandingoverhanging lugs for reception by rails within a beehive from which abrood frame has been withdrawn, said lugs being narRower than thevertical end walls and centrally oriented thereby spacing the lugs fromadjacent brood frames, elongated vertical sidewalls similarly taperingslightly outwardly as they rise to the top of the container means, allof said vertical outwardly tapering walls assisting bees in crawling inand out, and, at the top of the container means, the vertical sidewallscurve inwardly to meet with the inwardly curved portions of the endwalls, and they also meet at a central area of an upper portion to forma partial top wall for the container means, further providing a pair ofopenings in said partial top wall leading to a single, hollow interiorspace bounded by said bottom, end, side and top walls, the inwardlycurved portions forming the partial top wall with two openings furtherrigidifying and strengthening the overall container means by the joinedportions of the partial top wall, all of the interior walls during theirplastic-molding procedure being given a roughened interior surface tofurther assist bees in climbing in and out of the container means, saidbottom wall further having transversely positioned concavo-convexexterior beads extending for the full width of said bottom wall andadjacent the longitudinal extremities of said bottom wall, said beadsserving as feet or legs to elevate said bottom wall above a bottom of abeehive in which it may be inserted, said feet or legs providing a crawlspace for bees adjacent the container means within a beehive.